FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TAJ GIBSON - PAGE 2

Seemingly every time Taj Gibson boarded the elevator at the downtown Chicago hotel where the NBA staged its predraft camp in late May, James Johnson's smile greeted him. Little did Gibson know the same smile would be flashing next to him from a United Center dais Monday morning, when the Bulls unveiled their new draft picks at a news conference. "He's a funny guy, and I've already grown close to him," Gibson said. "I like the way he carries himself. I look forward to working with him."

Like countless basketball aficionados -- and even some non-fans -- Taj Gibson sat transfixed, watching last spring's galvanizing playoff series between the Bulls and Celtics. Perhaps that's one reason that despite missing two straight practices with a painful flare-up of plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Gibson said he definitely will take the famed parquet floor Thursday night. "KG and Rasheed (Wallace) already welcomed me into (the rivalry) by smack-talking me, so I'm looking forward to throwing some more elbows," Gibson said.

Some might be surprised Tim Floyd is on his third NBA life. Taj Gibson isn't one of those people. "He told me he was going to come back to the NBA juggernaut at some point," Gibson said. "I'm happy for him." The former Bulls coach is in his second stint with the Hornets after general manager Jeff Bower fired Byron Scott, took over as coach and hired Floyd as an assistant. Gibson, who played for Floyd at USC, said he left his college coach a voice mail congratulating him. "Coach Floyd taught me so much about the pro game," Gibson said.

About 90 minutes before the NBA draft began Thursday, a Bulls official strolled the court at the Berto Center, looking about as relaxed as a vacationer. "Seems like a quiet night," a bystander said. "It will be," the official replied. Those fans clamoring for the Bulls to engage in trade talks for high-profile movement around the league like Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland, Vince Carter to Orlando and Amare Stoudemire possibly to Golden State might be upset. The Bulls weren't, though, after adding Wake Forest forward James Johnson with the 16th pick and USC power forward Taj Gibson at No. 26. Team officials believe the players can contribute as rookies while not upsetting the organization's financial flexibility moving forward.

INDIANAPOLIS - There were three technical fouls, all to the Pacers. Carlos Boozer drew a flagrant foul for throwing an elbow near Roy Hibbert's head. There were collisions and curse words. In other words, Friday night marked just another chapter in the Bulls-Pacers rivalry, this one a 91-79 Pacers victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. And as if the mirror-image teams already didn't play with enough defensive intensity, Taj Gibson's postgame comments after fouling out in just 22 minutes should provide some fodder for a rematch - which comes quickly Monday at the United Center.

As of late Wednesday, Carlos Boozer said he plans to return from missing three games with a sore left calf in Thursday's final game before the All-Star break against the Nets. If he does, coach Tom Thibodeau said Boozer will do so as the starting power forward. "Yeah," Thibodeau said Wednesday when asked if Boozer will remain the starter. "I have to know what the minutes restrictions are. But for us to achieve what we want to achieve, we need Carlos. " Taj Gibson has averaged 19.3 points on 49.6 percent shooting and 9.8 rebounds in 42.3 minutes over eight starts.

Before this grueling circus trip began, I went on my weekly radio appearance with WSCR-670 AM's Mully and Hanley show and said it'd be "miraculous" if the Bulls won more than two games. With two games remaining, the Bulls are 3-2 and have a chance to post their first winning mark on the annual circus trip since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen retired. To quote one of my favorite authors, Denis Johnson: "And you, you ridiculous people, you expect me to help you. " Nevertheless, we forge on, providing more answers and predictions, hopefully with some semblance of accuracy.

Taj Gibson has made many transformations, from a furniture mover in Brooklyn while playing street basketball to a non-physical skinny forward to a first-round NBA draft pick. But that's all behind Gibson now because the Bulls drafted him 26th overall in Thursday's NBA draft. Gibson can forget the home schooling, the days playing with older guys on the street courts, the different high schools far from home and the frenetic attempt to become eligible at USC when some credits wouldn't qualify.

Tim Floyd is known in these parts as the man who coached a disastrous post-dynasty roster to a 49-190 mark until resigning under pressure on Christmas Eve eight years ago. To Taj Gibson, Floyd is known as a savior. "He prepared me for the NBA ever since I got to USC," Gibson said. "He taught me how to play defense, how to understand play calls and how to be coachable. "He always told me to get to the NBA you have to learn play defense. He said he had a lot of talented guys on the roster when he was in the league, but he didn't play them because they couldn't play defense.